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DEER TICK, ROBERT ELLIS

REPUBLIK, OCTOBER 19, 2013

The chorus to Deer Tick’s “The Bump” sums up exactly what this band is all about: “We’re full-grown men/but we act like kids/we’ll face the music/next time we roll in.”All Deer Tick fans faced the music on October 19th at Republik, as the show sold out earlier in the week due to a cancelled show in Edmonton.

Prospective rock musicians should start channeling their inner Deer Tick – the perfect combo of indie and mainstream – plus they couldn’t give two shits as to what reviewers and the media say about them. They have a major fan following, which makes their shows a unique experience of swimming in beer-foamed sing-alongs.

The tour is to support their latest release, Negativity, which acted as an outlet for frontman John McCauley over 2012, when his father pleaded guilty to federal charges. The album was filled with songs of anger and sadness, but still managed to put on a rock ‘n’ roll dance party with “Main Street,” “Baltimore Blues No. 1,” “These Old Shoes” and “Ashamed.” These are the types of songs that encourage you to have your arms around your best friends, or some random person next to you, swaying back and forth.

The band always provides a lengthy high-energy set, an encore that is basically a mini-show and you always get what you paid for. You might not remember what happened the morning after a Deer Tick show, but you know you had a fuck-load of fun. Your lack of voice, hangover and new Deer Tick shirt that you woke up in is proof of that. If you didn’t hit these milestones, then you’re doing it wrong.